Steam-superheater.



No. 849,468. PATENTED APRFQ, 1907.

- G. M. FERGUSON.

STEAM SUPERHBATER. APPLICATION FILED NOV.19, 190a.

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Vgg M X X No, 849,468. PATENTBD APR. 9, 1907.

G. M. FERGUSON. STEAM SUPBRHEATER.

APPLIOATION FILED NOV. 19, 1906.

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Y W/ ///////I UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CHARLES MELVILLE FERGUSON, OFLAVENDER HILL, ENGLAND, ASSIGNOR TO ARTHUR HORACE SPEAKING, OF LONDON,ENGLAND.

STEAM-SUPERHEATER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Eatenteci April 9, 1907.

Application filed November 19, 1906. Serial No. 344.108.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES MELVILLE FERGUSON, mechanical engineer, asubject of the King of Great Britain, residing at 29 Beaucharnp road,Lavender Hill, in the county of Surrey, England, have invented new anduseful Improvements in Connection with SteamSuperheaters, of which thefollowing is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in connection with superheatcrsfor use upon or in connection with steam-boilers of any type, the objectbeing to provide a form of superheater that can be readily attached toany type of boiler or steam-generator or employed independently, andthat can be constructed so that its joints can be examined during theworking of the boilers and that the parts can be readily repaired orremoved without having to disturb or disconnect the entire superheateror casing, and for securing other advantages such as will result fromhaving a superheater constructed with its tubes arranged in a series ofindependent sections of moderate weight and convenient of form forhandling instead of being all attached to large members or to onecontinuous header or casing in the manner now commonly adopted with theusual type of superheater at present in use.

In carrying my invention into effect when applying my superheater to ahorizontal cylindrical form of boiler having a back or end fine Iprovide a header or steam-supply chamber With a branch or branches forenabling the steam from the boiler to be delivered thereto, preferablyin a position above the flues of the boiler, and I connect to thisheader a series of tubes which I carry from the upper surface of theheader and then bend downward and cause them to pass through theflue-space or chamber where the gases or flames may impinge thereon, theother ends of the bent tubes being connected by flanges or the like tothe upper surface of the superheated-steam chamber, whichsuperheated-steam chamber I provide with an outlet or supply branch orbranches arranged in any convenient position thereon. I make thesuperheater-tubes which are thus conneeted at their ends to the uppersurfaces of the wetsteam-collecting chamber and the superheated or drysteam-chamber in the form of independent sectionsthat is, I make mytubes to be secured by ferrules or other ordinary attachments to flangeswhich. are bolted on or otherwise attached to suitable openings in theupper surface of the chambers. I arrange the tubes as a series ofsections, providing two, three, or more tubes, as may be foundconvenient, upon each section or flange, so that when it is desired toremove a section for repair or cleaning the removal of theattaching-bolts will enable the flanges to be drawn away upward from thetwo steamchambers and the tubes readily removed without having todisturb any of the other sections or tubes mounted upon the chambers orsteam-main crmnections. I provide blank flanges upon the openings towhich the tubes are attached when the tubes are withdrawn, so that thesuperheater as a whole may continue working, while any of its sectionsmay be witlnlrawn for cleaning or for other purposes. I dispose theindependent tubes upon the sectional flanges in such a manner that theynest one around or about the other conveniently to make the flanges assmall as possible and to bring the greatest amount of tube-heatingsurface in contact with the flames or gases that are to be employed togive the superheat. I carry drainpipes with suitable cocks thereon fromthe lower portions of the steam-collecting box or chambers for takingoff whatever water of condensation may collect there during the workingor standing of the boiler. \Vhen building up my superheaters by thisarrangement of sectionally-(lisposed tubes, I can by proportioning thenumber of independent sections to suit the extent of superheat that isrequired readily decrease or increase the amount of superheat that is tobe given to the steam by varying the number of sections that are to beused or the course which the steam shall take through such sections. Isometimes provide balfles or division-plates within the headers, so asto cause the steam to pass first through one series of tubes and thenanother before emerging from the superheated or dry steam-supp] y main,and I sometimes construct the whole of the header or manifold in theform of a series of sectional lengths of easing, so as to enable me toadd to or decrease the size of superheater to suit the boiler orconditions under which the apparatus is to be employed. I mount myheaders within a chamber and provide a cover or covers thereto whichupon removal enables me to have complete access to the joints of thetubes and the flanges, seeing that these are disposed upon the uppersurface of the steam-collecting headers, and I make the covers of suchcasingto be of size and form suitable for enabling access to be obtainedto the whole or any portion of the tubes as and when required withouthaving to disturb or interfere with the steam-mains arranged thereon.

In the drawings annexed I have shown a superheater constructed accordingto my in vention used in conjunction with a two-flued l Lancashireboiler.

Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of the rear end of the boiler and thesuperheater placed at this end. Fig. 2 is a horizontal section on theline A B, Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a vertical section on the line C D. Fig. 4is a longitudinal section, on'a larger scale, of one of the steamchambers or headers. Fig. 5 is a plan view of the same, and Fig. 6 aplan view of the parts of the superheater and of the rear end of theboiler.

In these figures, A is the rear end of the boiler.

B is the back or end flue, and C the return flue, which passes backbelow the boiler, and I) the side fines, which, as usual, lead the gasesfrom the return-flue to the main flue E, from which they pass to thechimney.

F G are two steam chambers or headers mounted at the top of the backflue B. One

end of each is prolonged and has a flanged branch F or G extendingupward from it. Steam from the boiler is supplied to the branch F, whilethe steam after being superheated is led oil from the branch G.

In the upper side of each header are a series-of openings, acorresponding number in each header, and each closed by a separatecover-plate H, secured to the header, as shown, or it might be in othersuitable ways. Each cover-plate H closing one opening in the to of theheader F, has rising from it a suitab e number of tubes I. It is shownto have three tubes rising from it. The tubes after rising from theplate H are bent downward and after being made to extend downward nearlyto the bottom of the flue B are again bent upward and then at the top ofthe flue again bent downward and passed through and secured to the plateH, which closes the corresponding opening in the header G. Each set ofthree or other number of superheatingtubes I can thus readily bedisconnected from the headers F and G- and replaced by another set, orthe openings in the headers may for a time be covered over with blankplates which carry no superheating-tubes.

By making the superheating-tubes I to rise upward from the top of thesteam-headers any water of condensation collecting in the headers willnot pass from them into the superheating-tubes. Any water ofcondensation so collecting in the headers during the working or standingof the boiler can, as pre- I viously stated, be drawn off from them Ithrough drain-pipes extending from them at the bottom and fitted withsuitable draw-oil cocks F G K K are two cover-plates closing over thetop of the back flue B. Each has a central l opening formed through itcovered over with a smaller readily-removable cover L. When l the coversK are removed any section of pipes can readily be detached and takenaway. The smaller covers L allow of dust, &c., be- 5 ing at any timereadily removed from the pipes.

As previously stated, the steam in place of being superheated by beingcaused to pass once only through superheatingtubes I might be made topass through two or more sets of such tubes in succession. For example,a division might be placed across the center of the header F and thesteam after being admitted to one half or division of the header be madeto pass through superheatingtubes I into the header G and from therethrough other superheating-tubes back again into the other half of theheader F before being led away. As above stated also, each header inplace of being formed in one length might be built up of a number ofshort lengths bolted together, so that headers of any desired length maybe built up by bolting together a greater or lesser number of such shortlengths.

That I claim is 1. In a steam-superheater for steam-boilers thecombination of a steam-boiler, a vertical flue-space at the back of theboiler, a readily-removable cover closing over the top of this space, aninlet and an outlet steam chamber or header mounted side by side in theupper part of the flue-space, openings in the upper sides of theseheaders, removable cover-plates closing over these openings and tubessecured at one end to a cover-plate closing an opening in the upper sideof one header l and then bent and passed downward through the verticalflue-space and then again upward and secured to a cover-plate closing anopening in the other header and means for conveying steam from thesteam-boiler to one of the headers and for leading it away in asuperheated state from the other header.

2. The combination of an inlet and an outlet steam chamber or header,tubes led for a distance downward from the upper surface of one headerand then upward to the upper surface of the other header and drain-pipesfitted with draw-off cocks extending from the bottom of the header.

CHARLES MELVILLE FERGUSON.

Witnesses R. B. RANSFORD, ARTHUR OARPENAEL,Junr.

